English Listening: I Went to Disney World! | Episode 27

Listen to a story about my trip to Disney World!

You’ll also learn how the words “kind of” become the sound /ˈkaɪnə/ in fast, natural spoken English.

Welcome to the English Teacher Melanie Podcast, a podcast for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their English listening and speaking skills!

Each episode includes a story and a pronunciation tip. In the story, I use core vocabulary, the most common words in English, to tell a real world story. The pronunciation tip will help you understand natural spoken English.

You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, the story is a little slower than normal. It sounds funny because I used editing software to change the speed of the story and make it slower. After the pronunciation tip, you’ll hear the story again, but at a regular speed.

THE STORY

I am so excited to tell you about my trip to Disney World in Florida! We were there for 7 days and it was so much fun! We did so much in 7 days! We went on rides, we saw animals, we watched parades and shows and fireworks, we met characters, we went shopping, we ate, and we walked! A lot! I was exhausted by the end of the trip, but I loved every minute of it! In total, I took 1304 photos.

I started planning this trip in January. Yeah, I’m that kind of person! Six months before our trip, I made all our dining reservations. We had breakfast with Mickey and dinner in a castle! Two months before our trip, I booked passes so we could skip the lines on some popular rides. That was awesome! Disney World is a massive place and always busy, so you need to be organized to make sure you see and do everything you want to!

I love everything about Disney World, but most of all I love the nostalgia! This is the 8th or 9th time I’ve been to Disney World. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the first couple times I visited because I was so young. The great thing about Disney World is that there’s always something new to discover each time you visit! I am never bored there.

Everything was great about the trip – except for the rain. And it rained every day. We forgot to bring umbrellas and rain ponchos with us, so we were stuck paying $10 each for a Disney rain poncho, which was a ridiculous price. Even in the rain, Disney World is still fun! I can’t wait to go back and I’m already thinking about my next trip!

PRONUNCIATION TIP

HOW THE WORDS KIND OF BECOME THE SOUND /ˈkaɪnə/ IN FAST, NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH

This transcript uses IPA symbols to represent sounds and teach pronunciation. Learn more about the IPA here.

It’s important to know how to say this sound so that you can also hear this sound.

Listen to this sentence from the story:

Yeah, I’m that kind of person!

Did you hear the words KIND or OF in the sentence? There are 3 things that happen in spoken English when the noun KIND is followed the preposition OF. In fast natural speech, the two words are combined and reduced to the sound /ˈkaɪnə/.

The preposition OF is a function word. It’s a grammar word. It needs to be in the sentence to make the sentence grammatically correct, but it’s not an important word. In fast, natural speech, the preposition OF is reduced to just the sound /ə/. That sound is called the schwa and it’s the vowel sound in reduced syllables.

One of the main features of English pronunciation is linking. It’s part of the rhythm of English. In spoken English, words are linked, or connected, so that there is no pause between the words.

The noun KIND ends with a D consonant sound and the preposition OF begins with a vowel sound. The D at the end of KIND links to the vowel sound /ə/. KIND and OF become one word with two syllables, and the D is the first sound of the second syllable.

Listen: /ˈkaɪndə/

This is why you will sometimes see native speakers write “kinda” K-I-N-D-A even though that’s not a word. They’re just writing what they say.

The N and D consonant sounds at the end of KIND have the same starting mouth position. The tip of your tongue is touching the alveolar ridge or gum ridge behind your top teeth. Instead of finishing the D sound, American English speakers just don’t say the D sound at all, and so /ˈkaɪndə/ becomes /ˈkaɪnə/

Listen to the sentence from the story again:

Yeah, I’m that kind of /ˈkaɪnə/ person!

In natural spoken English, you will hear KIND and OF together pronounced three ways:
/ˈkaɪndəv/
/ˈkaɪndə/
/ˈkaɪnə/

It’s important that you know all three ways of saying KIND OF so that you can hear all three ways of saying KIND OF.

Comments

Hi my dear Melanie
your voice is very nice and your story was very useful for me and also I never have seen Disney land but I would like to see there one time in my life , but for now I can not cause I am so busy, thanks a lot for all your help in this language, and I will try to study more and more about it.
Good luck
Have a great day
Mona

Hi.Melanie. It is my first time to listen your podcast here.and as a English learner,I really wanna improve my spoken language ,and I need someone could help me about that.and after listening your podcast,you show us some kinds of pronunciation skill .and it gave me a lot pleasure.
Thanks

Thanks for sharing your vacation details with us. I really want to visit Disney World with my wife. Also as I mentioned before, we also want to see Prague next summer. My wife, Gizem also a person like you. She always wants to plan everything before doing something or going somewhere. Sometimes it can be very boring to try to plan everything because I’m not that kind of person. I am a spontaneous person and I don’t like overthinking about little things.

Hi Melanie,
I had a little bit of nostalgia while listening to your podcast! I went to Disney Paris several years ago, and you reminded me of that vacation of mine. :-)
This year I went to visit Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. The weather was fantastic (actually a little too hot!) and I enjoyed to stroll around the city among its beautiful castle, historical buildings, the river banks, shops. Everything was stunning! Have you ever been there? :-)
Best,
Monica

Hi, Melanie, I like all your podcast, regards…from,Venezuela, here we can’t go on vacation right now, every thing is too expensive and we just can buy food for every day, only food and the food that you could find in the marketplace, not the food what you exactly need. I’ m your fan number one, you’re an excellent teacher. My best wishes for you…

I am glad that you have enjoyed your vacation in Florida.I agree that the poncho is overpriced, but i guess that it is also a way of making big money. The admission fee is pricey, they could very well charge only 2 dollars for the poncho and still make money.

I would like to go to LA and Seattle. Unlike LA that is very dried , Seattle rains a lot and what i saw is that some shopping centers keep baskets full of umbrellas for the customers, so they can get around without getting wet. They trust that people after shopping, and on their way to the car will put it back in the basket. I did it.

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About Melanie

I help English learners move from the classroom into the real world by teaching you real world sentences and helping you understand natural spoken English. I also help you find the best study tips and training techniques that work for you!

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